Silent Snow: The Slow Poisoning of the Arctic

This is the Silent Spring for the arctic and a must read for anyone interested in the Arctic or environmental issues. I didn't appreciate some of the description of Barrow, Alaska and that made me question some of the accuracy of the entire book. Example, Marla Cone states that no one goes hungry in Barrow. Whaling is a communal activity but I hardly think that is true. On nearly the same paragraph, the author then describes Barrow as an ugly wasteland (wait a minute - weren't you just saying it was perfect). Anyway, ignoring some of the personal descriptors, I would recommend this book as an introduction to Arctic climate issues.

I read this because Sara Wheeler recommended it in her fascinating book "Magnetic North." It has themes and stories in common with Wheeler, with Cone adding a more "scientific" tack.. Note that the title purposely calls to mind Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring." The way that industries, especially American and Russian, contaminate the environment and inhabitants of the "pristine" Arctic lands, and seas, is depressing and alarming. Winds and currents bring a steady flow of PCB's etc from, for example, the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence region, one of the world's most polluted. (Remember when the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was a fire hazard?) Despite occasional numbers and statistics, this book is too good to pass up....

The Contamination of the NorthGenerally, when people think of the North Pole they think of a beautiful and clean environment, far away from factories and pollution. However, this isn’t necessarily the case. Marla Cone, the author of Silent Snow: The Slow Poisoning of the Arctic claims the Arctic Circle to be one of the most contaminated places on Earth. This is a rather heavy claim, but one backed up by evidence. The most prominent being that enormous quantities of Polychlorinated Biphenyls are being found in the Arctic Circle. Throughout her book she explains the process of PCB starting in factories, and how it ends up in humans in the North Pole.So what exactly are Polychlorinated Biphenyls anyway? Marla Cone explains PCB’s in a rather easy way to understand. PCB is a synthetic chemical created in the late 1800’s. In the early 1920’s it started to become mainstream for its convenient uses. Some products PCB’s would be in include fire retardant materials, paints, adhesives, and waterproofing substances. With the increase in luxury and in a society increasingly turning into a convenience society, the uses for PCB grew, and the amount of PCB’s being put into the atmosphere exponentially increased as well. Normally, this wouldn’t be such a bad thing but because PCB’s are synthetic chemicals, they take a very long time to break down in the environment. Marla Cone states the primary way PCB’s are broken down in the environment is by soil and sediment. This is because of the many microorganisms that live within the soil.How exactly does PCB being produced in industrialized countries end way up in the North Pole? According to Marla Cone, it’s because of ocean and wind currents. Wind currents stem from the difference of pressure throughout the world. The wind then pushes or guides the ocean currents. Various currents lead to the Arctic Circle, and when the current ends, it deposits whatever it carried to that region. In this case, PCB attaches itself to organic matter within the ocean and air, and rides the current to the Arctic Circle. As the current slows or ends, the PCB deposits itself, creating large buildups of PCB.So what does all this buildup of PCB mean for life in the Arctic Circle then? Marla Cone describes the process of PCB getting into plants, animals, and humans through the process of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Bioaccumulation occurs when organisms absorb or gain a substance within itself. Biomagnification relates heavily to the food chain. Essentially substances increase in their potency as it moves up the food chain. Marla Cone provides an example describing these processes in the Arctic Circle. Firstly, the buildup of PCB lands on aquatic plants and is absorbed by them. Secondly, the plants are eaten by zooplankton, followed by them being eaten by cod. Finally, the cod is eaten by seals, and in turn humans eat the seals. The PCB originally absorbed by the single celled plants on the ocean floor is absorbed by each organism on its way up the food chain. Marla Cone states that by the time humans receive the PCB, the amount can be over a million times greater than what was originally in the plant.The accumulation of PCB in humans can lead to some disturbing consequences. Marla Cone states numerous consequences including a possible link to cancer in people with high concentrations of PCB. Another is that women with high concentrations of PCB in them increase the likelihood of their baby’s having birth defects. In young teens it’s been found that higher concentrations of PCB lead to weaker immune systems. Lastly, it’s also been found that high concentrations of PCB lead to damage in brain development.However, after Marla Cone states these awful effects of PCB, she ends the book by providing hope in that she states what the world has done to stop the use of PCB’s and other pollutants. In 1973 the use of PCB’s was banned in the United States. Also, in 1995 the United Nations Environment Program adopted a resolution to review the use of other harmful pollutants. Most recently in 2001, 99 countries signed a pact to ban or limit the use of PCB.Overall, Marla Cone’s book Silent Snow: The Slow Poisoning of the Arctic was an enjoyable read. She did an especially good job of explaining the material without dumbing down the content of the book. That being said, most of the book was the same from chapter to chapter. She could’ve easily condensed the material into a smaller book or just left out parts of it entirely. For the most part though, it was an engaging text that kept me interested all the way through. Also, the structure of the book was laid out in a fashion that made sense. She started with what PCB was, moved on to how it traveled to the Arctic Circle, explained in detail how it affected life there, and ended nicely with how to fix the problem that is PCB’s. This book perfectly relates to how the environment is changing by human hands, and that we can stop that change if we really try.

The book Silent Snow by Marla Cone is really interesting. She chooses a topic that is usually neglected and taken for granted by people and explains it really well. She explains every possible answer for every possible question asked by people related to the topic. The notion of highly toxic environment in North Pole is usually neglected because the stigma that North Pole has a really pure and clean environment sticks to many people in other parts of the world. Additionally, people often just take it for granted the thing that they do every day.The book makes people think about the interrelation that happens in the world, that every action that people take in a certain place can cause something to people in other places both in the short term and long term. Thus, the book intrigues people to really think about what they do and what will be the impact of their actions, because what people think as a small chemical residue can cause a global impact and can become toxic in a broader scope. The conclusion of the book is well written. Even though she explains that many new things can happen in the future, that many “new” types of toxic chemicals might arise in the future, as long as everyone does what they can do and use all of the knowledge that they possess, there is still a chance for changes. There is still hope for the future.

AMAZING book Marla Cone is a true environmental hero! If anyone poo hoos problems with toxicity, give them this book! They will get it after they read it!